– NSAC DENIES JON JONES’ APPEAL OF DQ

by Steven Marrocco – MMAWeekly.com
Jon Jones’ disqualification against Matt Hamill at “The Ultimate Fighter” season 10 finale will not be overturned.

Jason Genet, a representative of Jones’ camp, said he received a letter Monday from the Nevada Attorney General’s office stating an appeal to have the result changed would not be heard.

“It wasn’t really a denial, it just said (the Attorney General’s office) doesn’t overturn decisions like that,” said Genet. “So there’s no need to appeal, and therefore, they didn’t want to waste the commission’s time.”

Jones was disqualified after throwing several illegal elbows at Hamill from the mount position during the Dec. 5 battle in Las Vegas. Referee Steve Mazzagatti halted the bout after reviewing the blows on instant replay – the first time a referee had done so in Nevada.

In a letter dated Dec. 11, Jones’ managers, Ryan Ciatoli and Gary Marino, filed a letter with the Nevada State Athletic Commission asking to change the fight’s official result to a win in Jones’ favor. Keith Kizer, Executive Director of the NSAC, sent the letter to the Attorney General’s office for official review.

The letter did not dispute that Jones’ elbows were illegal, but said Mazzagatti erred when he did not involve ringside physicians in determining whether Hamill could continue, and said a shoulder injury Hamill suffered prior to the illegal blows rendered him unable to continue.

Hamill, who is legally deaf, had blood in his eyes when Mazzagatti asked him if he was okay after stopping the bout. When he did not respond, Mazzagatti reviewed the sequence and made his decision.

Jones’ complaint said the cuts that caused blood to run into Hamill’s eyes were the result of legal elbows thrown from the mount. It also cited a statement from Hamill’s website where Hamill admitted the bout was “probably over” after the shoulder injury.

Genet said Jones’ camp would likely end their appeal efforts.

“We felt it was important to appeal, just to be on record,” he said. “But it’s one of those things where there’s not a guaranteed winner, so we’ll probably just move on from this, even if there’s a way to prove that it should have been (overturned). It looks like the UFC’s recognizing that Jon’s a dominant force. It appears people are not judging the disqualification, they’re judging the performance, which is really all you can care about in the fight game right now. ”

Jones is already scheduled to face light heavyweight standout Brandon Vera in the main event of the yet-unannounced UFC Fight Night 21 on March 21 in Denver. He declined comment on the ruling Wednesday afternoon.

Kizer was out of his office and did not respond to calls and emails requesting confirmation of the denial.